Waterloo Apartments sold Enbloc for $131.1 million

Published Date : 14/11/2018

In one of the first few collective sale sites concluded after severe measures were imposed on the residential market on 6 July 2018, Property Consultants’ Cushman & Wakefield has sold Waterloo Apartments, located in the heritage Civic District to Fragrance Victory Pte Ltd for $131.1 million. This 999-year leasehold site has a land area of 1,334.9 sq m (14,369 sq ft approximately).

Waterloo Apartments located at No. 64 Waterloo Street and within the Central Area comprising the Bras Basah and Bugis precincts obtained an ‘Outline Planning Permission’ or ‘OPP’ for a change in zoning from an existing “Residential with 1st Storey Commercial” with a plot ratio of 2.8 to a ‘Hotel’ use with a plot ratio of 4.2 or a total maximum gross floor area of 5,606.58 sq m (60,348 sq ft approximately). There are no development charges payable due to the high development baseline for the site. Each of the 30 apartment owners will be getting an approximate gross sales proceeds of $4.37 million.

The property is strategically located within walking distance to the Bencoolen MRT Station (Downtown Line) and the Bras Basah MRT Station (Circle Line). It is one train stop to the Dhoby Ghaut Interchange (serving the North-East, North- South and Circle Lines). Being so accessible to public transport provides ease of direct travel especially to nearby tourist ‘must-see’ locations such as Fort Canning, Little India, Chinatown, The Esplanade, Marina Bay Sands, The Gardens by the Bay, City Hall, Orchard, Raffles Place Central Business District and the Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) for both tourist and business travellers.

According to Ms Christina Sim, Director of Capital Markets at Cushman & Wakefield, “We decided to change the course of the collective sale and instead of selling Waterloo Apartments as a residential development site, we opted to submit an OPP and wait for the hotel approval given that the residential enbloc market was reeling from the blow of the July 6 measures. We were also fortunate that the site is well located and within a zone which the URA would like to see enhanced into a kaleidoscope of delightful and memorable places. This offering gives the successful developer an opportunity to capitalize on our City’s rich heritage by building an exclusive boutique hotel befitting the Civic District. Visitor arrivals in 2017 grew 6.2% to a record high of 17.4 million while tourism spending rose to S$26.8 million. This momentum has continued into 2018 with tourist arrivals from January to July rising 7.4% year-on-year to 10.9 million. As Singapore continues to maintain its position as ‘The International Meeting City’ with prominent events being added to its calendar every year, demand for hotel rooms has improved with hotel occupancy rates averaging 85%.”

Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) is a leading global real estate services firm that delivers exceptional value by putting ideas into action for real estate occupiers and owners. Cushman & Wakefield is among the largest real estate services firms with 48,000 employees in approximately 400 offices and 70 countries. In 2017, the firm had revenue of US$6.9 billion across core services of property, facilities and project management, leasing, capital markets, valuation and other services. To learn more, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com or follow @CushWake on Twitter.